The Supreme Court on Monday warned the West Bengal government against creating obstacles in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, while assuring redressal of legitimate concerns. The court also heard the Election Commission’s objections regarding the appointment of inadequately qualified Electoral Registration Officers.
The Supreme Court on Monday issued a firm caution to the West Bengal government not to obstruct the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, even as it acknowledged that genuine grievances in the process would be duly considered.
A bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, and comprising Justices Joymalya Bagchi and N V Anjaria, was hearing a batch of petitions challenging the ongoing SIR process in West Bengal being conducted by the Election Commission of India (ECI).
Emphasising the Court’s intent, CJI Surya Kant observed:
“We will remove hurdles, but we will not create any impediments in the completion of SIR. Let us be very clear about it.”
The bench clarified that the revision process must go ahead as per schedule, dismissing any notion that the judiciary would interfere with its timely execution.
Senior Advocate D S Naidu, appearing on behalf of the ECI, raised serious concerns regarding the appointment of Electoral Registration Officers (EROs), a critical component of the revision process.
He contended that EROs perform quasi-judicial functions, requiring adjudicatory experience. However, according to Naidu, while the Commission had requested around 300 Group B officers with appropriate experience, the state government provided only 64 such officers. The remaining appointments were made solely on the basis of pay parity, without consideration for judicial or quasi-judicial competence.
Naidu highlighted that some appointees were engineers, arguing that such officials lack the required legal adjudication skills and are thus unfit to discharge duties that involve decisions appealable before higher authorities.
The court has not passed a final order on this issue yet but is expected to monitor the compliance of its directions as the SIR exercise continues. The matter is part of a broader constitutional challenge over the conduct and supervision of electoral roll revisions in the state, with implications for upcoming elections.
